ESA de-orbit Cluster "Salsa" satellite

After 24 years studying the Earth-Sun interaction, ESA's Cluster mission has come to an end, and "Salsa", the first of the 4 Cluster satellites to be de-orbited, will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere on 8th September as part of a targeted manoeuvre to ensure that the resulting debris lands in part of the South Pacific Ocean which is as far as possible from inhabited areas.

This targeted re-entry at the end of its useful life will ensure that the satellite does not become space debris, in keeping with ESA's sspace safety goals and demonstrating their commitment to reducing the problems of space debris and uncontrolled reentries.  

Salsa's re-entry will be followed by the other 3 Cluster satellites, known as Rumba, Samba and Tango in November 2025 and August 2026.  By studying how they burn up in the atmosphere, ESA hopes to learn more about how to build zero-debris satellites in the future.  Tim Flohrer, head of ESA's Space Debris Office, was quoted as saying “The lessons learned from this activity will help turn targeted reentries into a safe and well-understood option for the disposal of other space missions in similar orbits.”

Read more on ESA's website

Featured image courtesy of ESA.